The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1887-03-03

ceiling had been scrubbed. Andonia
showed us with Il blush of pride her
neat little sleeping-room, with its SOU
I venirs of affection, and perhaps some
of the dried flowers of possible To-
nance, and the ladies admired the fine
ly woven white counterpane on the
bed. Adonia's married sister was a
large, handsome woman, smiling and
prosperous. There were children and
! think baby about, besides Mr.
ThibOdeaux. Nothing could exceed
the kindly manner of these people.
Andonia showed us how they card,
weave, and spin the cotton out of
which their blankets and the jean for
their clothing are made. They use the
old-fashioned hand-cards, spin on
little wheel with i foot treadle, have
the most primitive warping bars, and
weave most laboriously on rude loom.
But the cloth they make will Wear for
ever, and the colors they use are all
fast. 1t is great pleasure, We might
almost say shock, to encounter such
honest work in these times. The Aca-
dians grow a yellow OF nankeen sort of
cotton, which without requiring any
dye is woven into handsome yellow
stuff. When We departed Andonia
slipped into the door-yard, and return
ed with rose for each of us. fam
cied she was loath to have us go, and
that the visit was an event in the mon-
otony of her single life.
Embarking again on the placid
stream, We moved along through
land of peace. The houses of the Aca-
dians are scattered along the bayou at
considerable distances apart. The
voyager seems to be in an unoccupied
country, when suddenly the turn of the
stream shows him a farmhouse, with
Its little landing-wharf, boats, and per-
haps schooner mOnred at the bank,
and behind it cultivated fields and q
fringe of trees. In the blossoming
time of the year, when the birds are
most active, these scenes are idyllic.
The Acadians are fond of their
homes. 1t is not the fashion for the
young people to go away to better
their condition. Few young men have
ever been as far from home as New
Orleans. They marry young. and set
tie down near the homestead. Mr. lie
Blame has colony of his descendants
about him, within hail of his door,
1t must be large, and his race must be
prolific. Judging by the number of
small children who gathered at the
homestead to have sly peep at the
strangers, They took small interest in
the war, and it had few attractions for
them. The conscription carried away
many of their young men, but am
told they did not make very good SOL
dierS. not because they We're not stall
wart and brave, but because they were
SO intolerabiy homcsick that they de-
serted whenever they had chance.
The men whom we saw were most of
Them fine athletic fellows, with honest,
dark, sun-browned faces; some of the
children were very pretty, but the wo-
men usually showed the effects of isola-
ton and toll, and had the common
plainness of French peasants. They
are self-supporting community, raise
their own cotton. corn, and sugar, and
for the most part manufacture their
own clothes, and articles of household
use. Some of the cotton jeans, striped
with blue, indigo-dyed made into gar
ments for men and women, and the
blankets, plain yellow (from the native
nankeen cotton). curiously clouded,
are ve.y pretty and serviceable. Fur
ther than that their habits of living are
simple, and their ways primitive,
saw few eccentricities. The peculiar
ity Of this community is in its freedom
from all the curry and worry and in
formation of Our modern life. have
read that the gailants train their little
horses TO prance and curvet and rear
and tidgct about, and that these are
called ''courtin' horses, and are used
when young man goes counting. to
impress his mistress with his manly
l4orsemanship. | have seen these
horses perform under the saddle, but /
was not so fortunate as to see any
courting going on.-ChdrteS Dudley
Warner, ia Harper's Magazine.